4Ps list undergoes major purge amid findings of ‘duplications’

By Jovee Marie N. Dela Cruz @joveemarie

The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program’s (4Ps) list of beneficiaries is currently being purged, following recent findings of duplicate entries that led to P7 million in overpayments in the years 2020 and 2021, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) announced on Thursday.

Assistant Secretary Romel Lopez, who is also a DSWD spokesperson, said that as of June 5, 2023, the 4Ps National Program Management Office (NPMO) and the National household Targeting Office (NhTO) had completed the validation process for 316 out of the 370 households, which were the subject of the Commission on Audit (COA) 2022 report.

“Of the 316 households that have undergone the validation process, 186 households, or 58.68 percent, were verified as duplicates. These will be immediately delisted from the 4Ps program, while the excess cash grants to the duplicates will be recovered by DSWD through their active accounts that were retained,” said Lopez in a statement.

During a briefing on the DSWD budget, DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said that just 13 percent, or around P12.7 billion of the P94 billion budget for the 4Ps had been distributed, while the beneficiary list was being purged.

Gatchalian said the payout percentage for the P94.3 billion budget for the 4Ps for 2023 is 13.46 percent, while 30.74 percent of it has already been obligated.

“Admittedly, this is a bit low because we are completing the validation and further assessment of the 4Ps beneficiaries tagged as non-poor under Listahanan 3,” he said.

Moreover, Lopez said the delisting process due to overpayment is in accordance with the DSWD Memorandum Circular No. 3, Series of

Ecozone developer FPIP to assist Red Cross organize disaster response teams in Batangas

hUMANITARIAN organization Philippine Red Cross (PRC) and Lopez-led economic zone developer f i rst Philippine Industrial Park Inc. ( f P IP) have agreed on a joint project to organize in Tanauan City, Batangas, volunteers who will be trained to respond rapidly to emergencies and disasters.

The PRC, through its Batangas Chapter Administrator Ronald G. Generoso, and f P IP, through Vice President Ricky Carandang, signed recently a service agreement for the implementation of their joint project, which also aims to strengthen the country’s disaster risk reduction and management system.

Under the agreement, both parties agree to help each other in mobilizing grassrootslevel volunteers who will train and familiarize themselves with PRC programs, in particular, with the Red Cross 143 Program (RC143).

Red Cross created RC143 to build community resilience where RC143 volunteers—composed of one leader and 43 members—serve as the eyes, ears, hands, and feet of the PRC.

The program aims to promote a culture of self-help in schools, workplaces, and communities by developing a network of Red Cross volunteers who will prepare for disasters and respond rapidly to emergencies.

Under the service agreement, the PRC through its chapter in Batangas, has committed to assume a number of responsibilities, like the recruitment and training of volunteers and monitoring their progress under RC143.

f P IP, for its part, has committed to assume a number of responsibilities, such as providing financial and logistical help for PRC training programs activities; assigning local persons from the f P IP administration to assist PRC; and supporting PRC’s recruitment, as well as PRC’s other activities like mass blood donation drives and annual fund campaigns.

Under Republic Act No. 10072, PRC assumes the role of an independent, autonomous non-government organization auxiliary arm of the government. Its goals include the integration into sustainable development policies and planning of disaster risk reduction, universal healthcare, emergency responses and volunteerism; and the development and strengthening of institutions, mechanism, and capacities to build resilience to hazards.

f P IP is a subsidiary of Lopez-controlled f i rst Philippine h o ldings Corporation, one of the oldest and biggest conglomerates in the country.

Together with Japanese partner Sumitomo Corporation, f P h established f P IP as a world-class location for global manufacturers and traders, as well as a platform for creating jobs for ordinary f i lipinos and tax revenues for the government.

The 520-hectare ecozone, which straddles the host cities of Tanauan and Santo Tomas in Batangas, now provides employment for almost 80,000 f i lipinos, aside from generating hundreds of millions of pesos in tax revenues for both cities.

2021, also known as the Omnibus Guidelines on the Recovery of Overpayments from Pantawid Pamilya Beneficiaries.

The DSWD statement was in reply to the COA report on the overpayments to the 229 and 139 4Ps beneficiaries in 2020 and 2021, respectively, which included duplicated names.

“Validation tests were conducted for payrolls amounting to P3,891,300 in calendar year [CY] 2020 and P3,217,300 in CY 2021 revealed that 229 and 139 names [first name, middle name, and surname] of beneficiaries, respectively, appeared twice with different household ID numbers,” COA said in the DSWD’s annual audit report for 2022.

The list of beneficiaries for 4Ps, which is the government’s poverty alleviation program, is selected from the database of households living below the poverty line, or the Listahanan, which is under the N h TO.

On the supposed discrepancies between